SHF Scribe '10
Post by Toadkiller Dog on Apr 15, 2012 2:53:52 GMT
(Allow me to introduce this short piece by first explaining the settings, and then the intended tone of the tale. Firstly, for years now I've been writing short stories and even some online roleplaying events set in a fictional, bleak place called Grey City. Grey City is modeled something like a modern day New York combined with the oldschool occult feel of a Lovecraftian setting.
On the outskirts of Grey City lie Grey Woods, a deep, foreboding forest cloaked eternally in darkness. The sun literally never shines within this area. Over the course of time many, many strange, violent and horrific events have unfolded in these two settings.
That said however, this was done as a more of a black humor sort of jive. I wanted something a little more light hearted, or at least not quite as heavy on the tension and seriousness of my usual stories set here. The result is, in my own opinion mediocre, but I still enjoyed writing it all the same.)
The rain slicked streets of Grey city have never been the most friendly. A slew of depravity has reared it's ugly head in the small, mid-Western city for as long as records show. Paranormal activity, strong occult ties, grisly murders, about everything. The place is known for these things, but yet much like places like Hell's Kitchen, people still manage to scrape by here.
Something about the city just seems to draw the absolute worst humanity can muster out of people. A weekly murder or two isn't so uncommon in such a city, in fact it's nearly expected. The natives know to stay in doors at night, and keep their doors and windows locked tight. But even still the occasional tourist, if you want to call them that, will stop in and quite literally lose his head.
In a nutshell Grey city is one of the absolute last places you'd want to wake up and find yourself at in America. Even putting aside the horribly shitty weather and the odd, large body of woods surrounding the town that seems to seriously be constantly shrouded in darkness, even when the sun is trying it's best to muster some illumination during daylight hours in the city limits. There's nothing you'd want to find, or any reason to stay here.
New blood in the city. A professor of some sort, mentioned to some locals that he's in town to investigate the strange phenomena involving the seemingly perpetual darkness of the Grey woods. There's only two places to really get any real information about anything local in Grey city if you yourself aren't local. The Straight and the Dreary Inn. Things stay fairly calm, despite the surroundings at the Dreary Inn, an old couple runs the place, with some younger help. They try to just keep to themselves and keep their guests happy in a fairly rustic, yet clean inn. However The Straight is a constant ruckus.
Rowdy patrons, seedy dealings, plenty of loose lips and even the occasional stabbing. The bar is always stocked to the brim, despite the ample flowing of it's contents to both the local and passer-by, free of prejudice so long as the coin is coming. This middle-aged outsider had hit the books apparently and knew not only that The Straight was the place to be, but also where to find it in his first visit into town. His stay was brief and mostly drink free, which garnered a hint of hostility from the barkeep. His money was instead being used to refresh some locals memory about the legends surrounding the woods. He'd gotten a lot of nonsense and folk tales, but then he met the gruff looking, large man at the corner table with the scarred face. Me.
We discussed the matter at length, and gave him what I had, taking his money happily. Still, even to the locals the woods hold a certain stigmata. The worst of the worst here happens under that nightfall, amongst those dead and dying trees. Talk of the place is tight, aside from the usual tall tells and well known folk yarns, all of which this intelligent chap already knew. But I promised things he didn't, in fact promised I'd show him the closest path to the city limits. We set the time, just a few hours, he'd need the time to prepare. A light, overcoat, etc.
"Ya know, there's a lot of nasty old shit surrounding this place. Now'a days there's rumor of some mad man out 'ere that chases folks through the woods wearing an executioners cowl. Killed three or four fellows in the past few months, and the law hasn't been able to track him down yet. You'd better be careful, we can't go in very far."
I said, cracking my knuckles and having a look around.
"Hmm, yes I know a lot of awful things happen here, but I'm not interested in those. I'm only interested in the woods themselves."
Came his reply, snippy sounding yet completely calm.
"The woods are the least of your worries here friend. I've seen the murderer once though, at the edge of the woods."
I stopped, briefly, placing a firm grip on the sod to stiffen his pace before continuing.
"You wanna know what he looks like?"
He began to turn, muttering "Huh?" with a look of annoyance in his eyes.
In haste he threw my hand away from his shoulder as those same eyes began to widen in horror.
The slash was jagged, tearing into the side of his neck and into his shoulder. Blood instantly spurting out and through his quickly clamping fingers over his tan coat, already beginning to soak it crimson. He was doing a steady, slow back pedal as I pulled the blood red cowl from under my own coat, putting it on as I stalked closer.
"See?"
I asked with a grin, raising my large dirk again to strike.
THe poor bastard was certainly heavier than he at first appeared. I found that returning to my small shack of a cabin further up and branching off the path to retrieve my axe and dismembering these types made my nights a lot easier. Just needed to get him off the main path... The fellow bled like a stuck pig, it'd take me hours to wash up in the nearby stream before I could return to The Straight to get a drink.
See, Grey city is a terrible place. Nowhere you'd want to stay, only a certain type of person enjoys a place like this. Nothing but murder, hauntings, and violence. They've got a really nice little tavern though. Or so I hear.
On the outskirts of Grey City lie Grey Woods, a deep, foreboding forest cloaked eternally in darkness. The sun literally never shines within this area. Over the course of time many, many strange, violent and horrific events have unfolded in these two settings.
That said however, this was done as a more of a black humor sort of jive. I wanted something a little more light hearted, or at least not quite as heavy on the tension and seriousness of my usual stories set here. The result is, in my own opinion mediocre, but I still enjoyed writing it all the same.)
The rain slicked streets of Grey city have never been the most friendly. A slew of depravity has reared it's ugly head in the small, mid-Western city for as long as records show. Paranormal activity, strong occult ties, grisly murders, about everything. The place is known for these things, but yet much like places like Hell's Kitchen, people still manage to scrape by here.
Something about the city just seems to draw the absolute worst humanity can muster out of people. A weekly murder or two isn't so uncommon in such a city, in fact it's nearly expected. The natives know to stay in doors at night, and keep their doors and windows locked tight. But even still the occasional tourist, if you want to call them that, will stop in and quite literally lose his head.
In a nutshell Grey city is one of the absolute last places you'd want to wake up and find yourself at in America. Even putting aside the horribly shitty weather and the odd, large body of woods surrounding the town that seems to seriously be constantly shrouded in darkness, even when the sun is trying it's best to muster some illumination during daylight hours in the city limits. There's nothing you'd want to find, or any reason to stay here.
New blood in the city. A professor of some sort, mentioned to some locals that he's in town to investigate the strange phenomena involving the seemingly perpetual darkness of the Grey woods. There's only two places to really get any real information about anything local in Grey city if you yourself aren't local. The Straight and the Dreary Inn. Things stay fairly calm, despite the surroundings at the Dreary Inn, an old couple runs the place, with some younger help. They try to just keep to themselves and keep their guests happy in a fairly rustic, yet clean inn. However The Straight is a constant ruckus.
Rowdy patrons, seedy dealings, plenty of loose lips and even the occasional stabbing. The bar is always stocked to the brim, despite the ample flowing of it's contents to both the local and passer-by, free of prejudice so long as the coin is coming. This middle-aged outsider had hit the books apparently and knew not only that The Straight was the place to be, but also where to find it in his first visit into town. His stay was brief and mostly drink free, which garnered a hint of hostility from the barkeep. His money was instead being used to refresh some locals memory about the legends surrounding the woods. He'd gotten a lot of nonsense and folk tales, but then he met the gruff looking, large man at the corner table with the scarred face. Me.
We discussed the matter at length, and gave him what I had, taking his money happily. Still, even to the locals the woods hold a certain stigmata. The worst of the worst here happens under that nightfall, amongst those dead and dying trees. Talk of the place is tight, aside from the usual tall tells and well known folk yarns, all of which this intelligent chap already knew. But I promised things he didn't, in fact promised I'd show him the closest path to the city limits. We set the time, just a few hours, he'd need the time to prepare. A light, overcoat, etc.
"Ya know, there's a lot of nasty old shit surrounding this place. Now'a days there's rumor of some mad man out 'ere that chases folks through the woods wearing an executioners cowl. Killed three or four fellows in the past few months, and the law hasn't been able to track him down yet. You'd better be careful, we can't go in very far."
I said, cracking my knuckles and having a look around.
"Hmm, yes I know a lot of awful things happen here, but I'm not interested in those. I'm only interested in the woods themselves."
Came his reply, snippy sounding yet completely calm.
"The woods are the least of your worries here friend. I've seen the murderer once though, at the edge of the woods."
I stopped, briefly, placing a firm grip on the sod to stiffen his pace before continuing.
"You wanna know what he looks like?"
He began to turn, muttering "Huh?" with a look of annoyance in his eyes.
In haste he threw my hand away from his shoulder as those same eyes began to widen in horror.
The slash was jagged, tearing into the side of his neck and into his shoulder. Blood instantly spurting out and through his quickly clamping fingers over his tan coat, already beginning to soak it crimson. He was doing a steady, slow back pedal as I pulled the blood red cowl from under my own coat, putting it on as I stalked closer.
"See?"
I asked with a grin, raising my large dirk again to strike.
THe poor bastard was certainly heavier than he at first appeared. I found that returning to my small shack of a cabin further up and branching off the path to retrieve my axe and dismembering these types made my nights a lot easier. Just needed to get him off the main path... The fellow bled like a stuck pig, it'd take me hours to wash up in the nearby stream before I could return to The Straight to get a drink.
See, Grey city is a terrible place. Nowhere you'd want to stay, only a certain type of person enjoys a place like this. Nothing but murder, hauntings, and violence. They've got a really nice little tavern though. Or so I hear.
